Governance is all about competence, service, and delivering, not empty promises, not politics after winning election, as politics end at campaigns. Politicians generally are promise breakers and power drunk mostly in Africa. This is not to foreclose that other continent does not. It is a pendulum that swings among them. For instance four African countries are under military rule after forcefully taking over power from civilian badly ruled governments. Madagascar, has joined, making it, five.
The chronology: Burkina Fasa’s Armed Forces dismantled and overthrew an elected civilian government on September 30, 2022, On August 18, 2020, Malian military seized power and deposed civilian government, Guinea’s military on September 5, 2021 also captured power, On 26 July 2023, a coup d’état occurred in Niger when the country’s presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and took over.
This analysis only demonstrates the character of persons who after winning election jettison their election campaign promises and make the electoral suffer dividend of democracy, and the consequences are the coups. The recent coup is the one in Madagascar, a small East Africa country with a population of 32.7 million, rich in agriculture with vast land, unique biodiversity, precious stone such as rubies, sapphires and gold, tourism among others now trapped in history.
So, the Gen Z youth-led protest few weeks again saw the president, Andry Rajoelina being taken away by the French military as a way to save his life. The youths have protested on the basis of lack of water, power outage, corruption, poverty and unemployment. Sadly, Madagascar has joined Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the league of Nations of Gen Z, who chased away bad government.
Meanwhile this special report captures Aljazeera’s analysis of how the coup took place:
A Madagascar army colonel says the military has taken charge of the African island nation after its parliament voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina, following weeks of youth-led antigovernment protests.
There were celebrations in the streets of the capital, Antananarivo, following Colonel Michael Randrianirina’s announcement, which came almost immediately after parliament voted on Tuesday to impeach Rajoelina, who fled the country after soldiers joined the mass protests.
“We have taken the power,” Randrianirina said, adding that the military was dissolving all institutions except the lower house of parliament. He later told reporters that a committee led by the military would rule the country for a period of up to two years alongside a transitional government before organising new elections.
“The renovation period will last a maximum of two years. During this time, a referendum will be held to establish a new constitution, followed by elections to gradually set up the new institutions,” he told reporters.
“The following institutions are suspended: the Senate, the High Constitutional Court, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the High Court of Justice, and the High Council for the Defense of Human Rights and the Rule of Law,” a statement from the country’s military leaders said.
In a day of turmoil, Rajoelina, whose whereabouts are unknown, earlier sought to dissolve the lower house by decree. But lawmakers went ahead with a vote to impeach him, leaving the country in a constitutional deadlock that the military seized upon to declare they were taking charge. Rajoelina denounced the move as “a clear act of attempted coup d’etat”.
“The president of the republic remains fully in office and ensures the maintenance of constitutional order and national stability,” the presidency said in a statement.
Reporting from the headquarters of the army unit that has taken charge of the country, Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller said crowds of people in the capital cheered Randrianirina’s announcement.
A military source told the Reuters news agency that Rajoelina left the country on Sunday on board a French army aircraft, although France’s President Emmanuel Macron refused to confirm that his government had played a role.
Hours after Rajoelina spoke of “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force”, the army’s elite CAPSAT unit, which played a key role in the 2009 coup that first brought Rajoelina to power, said it had taken control of the military. It had earlier announced it would “refuse orders to shoot” demonstrators.
On Tuesday, a privately owned news website in Madagascar, 2424.mg, reported that the police had joined the military and gendarmerie in backing the demonstrations.
Led by Gen Z groups, the antigovernment protests began on September 25, initially to express anger over water and power outages. However, they soon expanded to encompass wider grievances over the cost of living, poverty and alleged government corruption, fuelling widespread calls for Rajoelina’s resignation.
‘Reformist’
Rajoelina, who positioned himself as a reformist, led a transitional government until 2014, stepping aside to restore constitutional order. He returned after winning the 2019 election and secured a second full term in 2023.
The United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured since the demonstrations began although Rajoelina’s government disputed these figures.
One CAPSAT soldier died in fighting with the gendarmerie on Saturday before a widespread move by the country’s security forces to support the demonstrations.
The protests have exposed deep frustration in one of the world’s poorest nations, where only a third of the population has access to electricity and blackouts routinely exceed eight hours a day.
The Gen Z Madagascar movement has drawn inspiration from recent uprisings that have challenged governments in several countries, including Kenya, Indonesia and Peru, Such youth-led demonstrations in South Asia have unseated governments in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Gen Z Madagascar had refused government offers for dialogue despite repeated outreach efforts by Rajoelina’s administration.
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